What's Rightfully Yours
by perpetually-prototyping
Summary: The road was longer than Sora ever knew, and the one who helped him walk it every step is also waiting at the end of it. Sora Ventus, KH3-based.
He appeared to be Sora's junior by a few years. He was slightly shorter in stature, skinny with a round, bright-eyed face fit more for a kid than a warrior from legend. There was also something childlike in the way he clung to Aqua, giving her his weight as she gently stroked his hair, and how he turned to bury his face in Terra's chest a long moment later in an equally emotional embrace.

And yet, for all that, there was a dignified air about Ventus when he finally turned to Sora. His expression was one of recognition, easy and fond; in contrast, Sora's had gone from sympathetic satisfaction in watching the trio's reunion to puzzlement and uncertainty. He didn't know this person - not beyond the striking similarity to Roxas - and yet he couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable under that calm, warm gaze.

Nothing about Ventus came off threatening or judgmental - quite the opposite - but the longer he stared, the more Sora tried to find something in the stark white room to settle his own attention on, because his usual easygoing and outward attitude was suddenly failing him. He didn't know this person, and yet he couldn't think of something, anything, to say and break the silence.

He actually felt _awkward,_ for some reason, which was a feat. The only thing he could liken it to, strangely, was the time he'd stood before his parents when he was eight or nine, having just returned from a trip to the outer island. Along with Riku, Sora had rowed out there for the first time without an adult's help - and without permission. Determined to prove his maturity, he'd gone fishing and brought back his biggest catch yet... only to find his father waiting sternly at the dock.

This was a lot like that. Waiting, it felt like, for either a disappointed reprimand or a sign of pride and approval.

Finally, he managed a smile and a cheerful tone as he inquired, "So, it's... Ventus, right?"

That made the boy's smile grow - no, not grow, but quirk slightly, as if he found something about that to be amusing. Normally, Sora would have gotten a little defensive at feeling mocked, but now that self-conscious sensation only intensified. He couldn't help feeling like this stranger's opinion mattered more than most. The longer he waited for it, the more antsy he became.

"You don't remember, do you." It wasn't a question - or an answer - but Ventus' easy tone didn't come off accusing. It was a gentle voice, slightly higher in pitch than Roxas'. More energetic, too, or maybe just more lively. From that alone, Sora had the feeling that this was someone who spent his days laughing and getting the most out of them.

When he faltered at the not-question, utterly at a loss, Ventus gave a soft laugh. "It's okay. I wouldn't really expect you to." He tilted his head, giving Sora a glancing once-over. "You were a lot smaller then."

"Smaller...?" Sora frowned, and then quickly looked over at Terra and Aqua. They were blurry, disjointed memories, but he remembered. Two strangers on the island shore. "Wait - were you there, too? Did we meet then?" he asked, but then started slightly when he looked back and realized Ventus had closed the distance between them, standing now at arm's length. _Why am I so_ ** _jumpy_** _?_ he wondered.

"Not exactly. I guess," said Ventus thoughtfully, "this is really our first time meeting in-person. But it's the third time you've helped me out, Sora."

"Third?" Sora was probably sounding like a broken record by now, but the more that was said, the less he understood, and his headache was quickly outpacing that unconscious reverence. "Then how is this our first - and how do you know my name? When did I-?"

He stopped and blinked as Ventus suddenly offered a hand. "Uh..." Shooting him a curious glance, Sora slowly reached to accept it, his free hand scratching idly at his neck. "I'm not really... sure what-"

As soon as their fingers brushed, several things happened. An overwhelming sense of deja vu hit Sora like a brick wall, tightening his throat and cutting off his voice. Distantly, he felt himself teetering on his feet, but Ventus gripped his hand tight and held him steady. As useful as that was in keeping him upright, the gesture seemed to make Sora's daze worse: the room around them dimmed as the deja vu thickened, clouding his eyes and mind with murky flashes of color too washed out and faded to make sense of.

And yet, he realized after a few disorienting seconds, it wasn't unpleasant. Pictures, voices, and sensations flickered through his thoughts, but it wasn't an assault on his senses. It wasn't the same as when Roxas had poured his memories over, a torrent of bittersweet love and loss that threatened to overwhelm. That had been like jumping into a pool before being warned to hold his breath.

This was different. Sora could feel as well as see the memories, but they were familiar - they were his own, and they were being guided, not forced. They were coming out of him, not into him.

Ventus was helping him observe these things, not subjecting him to them. As soon as Sora realized that, the haze cleared, a warm wind blowing through the fog in his mind.

 _-new heart-_

 _-our hearts have touched-_

 _"I followed the sound of your voice-"_

 _I did?_

 _"A second chance."_

 _-make you feel better-_

 _"Thank you."_

"Sora!"

He gasped for breath as he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly against the white walls that threatened to blind him - no, not the walls, the floor. He was on one knee, head hanging and shoulders trembling slightly. Not in pain, but lingering shock and dizziness. Ventus was crouched beside him, but no longer touching him.

Sora took a moment to collect his thoughts, rearranging and making better sense of them. The effect of Ventus' contact was already ebbing away, now a cool glow on the edges of his mind, but he didn't need it anymore. He knew what he'd been meant to see. He remembered.

"It was you," he panted. Those memories were in pieces, but he'd put enough of them together. "The someone... who was hurting." Slowly, once that out-of-body sensation had faded to a minimum, Sora raised his head and found that Ventus' smile had brightened. It was no longer enigmatic and hard to read, but cheerful. Happy. Grateful.

Approving.

The uncertainty from before dissipated. Sora matched that look with a grin, instantly as easy and confident as ever. "You could've just said so!"

Ventus just laughed as he stood, again offering a hand and pulling Sora to his feet - but even after he was up, Sora hesitated. It wasn't quite like before; there was no conjuring of memories, but the deja vu had returned the instant their skins touched. The longer the contact went on, the more it nagged at Sora that he recognized the feeling.

As concentrated as he was on trying to place the familiarity, he didn't realize that a good ten seconds had passed with him just standing there, still holding Ventus' hand in silence.

"Uh..." It was Ventus' turn to sound unsure, breaking Sora from his reverie.

"Huh?" He looked down, blinked, stared - and then started again as he quickly let go. "Oh! Sorry! I was just - y'see-"

Suddenly he heard a distant hum through the walls. A glance at the other three said they had, too. When the sound rose to a dull roar, loud enough to make the floor shake, Terra made for the door. "We've got company." He and Aqua summoned their Keyblades - and that was what finally jostled Sora's memory.

"That's it!" In his right hand he quickly summoned his own Keyblade, the Kingdom Key; in his left, Oblivion, the second Keyblade he'd found himself with ever since waking in Twilight Town way back. Reversing his grip in an easy motion, he offered the hilt to Ventus. "Here. I think... this is yours."

Ventus stared, looking as puzzled as Sora still felt - how, after all, would he have ended up with Ventus' Keyblade? - but after a moment he nonetheless reached to slip his fingers around the grip. As soon as he did, the weapon suddenly flashed in a burst of bright light, blinding both boys with startled cries.

Once it faded, Sora quickly looked - and saw that Oblivion's jagged shape had been replaced with something smoother, shorter, its curves almost aerodynamic. It was shaded in earthy colors, the hilt designed to be held backhanded. The keychain was silver set with a green stone, resembling a whirlwind.

Sora grinned again. That feeling he'd gotten at Ventus' touch - the familiar hum of life, the quiet warmth that concealed memories of peaceful nights and starry skies as much as it did a fiery drive to fight and protect - he knew he recognized it. Each Keyblade had a different feel to it, an identity that resonated with its wielder, and now there was no doubt.

"You _might_ want this back, Ventus," he suggested, the offer punctuated by another roar from somewhere lower in the castle.

"Heh, right. Thanks." As they hurried to catch up with Terra and Aqua, Ventus threw in, "But just call me Ven."


End file.
